Zucchini Surprise Fries

By Kathy C.

From the book by Leslie Sansone Eat Smart, Walk Strong
"How do you make french fries healthy? Easy: Make them out of zucchini instead! These surprise fries are a brilliant way to sneak veggies into kids-and you! Don't skip the salting stage; the salt draws moisture out of the zucchini and collapses air bubbles in them, which keeps the zucchini from soaking up much oil and makes them crisp."

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini, julienned (KC: use french fry blade on bosch food processor)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil or peanut oil (KC: coconut oil, red palm oil or avocado oil)
• 2 Tablespoons unbleached flour (KC: GF flour or coconut flour)
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation

Step 1

1. Toss the zucchini strips with the salt, set them in a colander in the sink or over a bowl, and drain 20-30 minutes. Squeeze any excess moisture out of the zucchii and then press them between paper towels to dry them. If they are too wet, the flour in step won't coat them evenly.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet until quite hot (but not smoking).
3. Toss the zucchini strips with the flour in a large bowl and add them to the oil, making sure they aren't crowded together. Fry, turning occasionally with a slotted spoon, until they are golden brown (about 5 minutes).
4. Fish out the zucchini with the slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 2-4 (or 1 starving teenager)